Title: Tax Commissioner Records
Inclusive Dates: 1867-1988

Creator:

• Milwaukee (Wis.). Office of the Tax Commissioner.

Call Number: City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 52

Quantity:

• 0.4 cubic ft. (1 box)
• 5 volumes
• 1 oversize folder

Repository:

Milwaukee Public Library, Frank P. Zeidler Room

Archival Location:

Milwaukee Public Library (Map)

Abstract:

Records of the City of Milwaukee Tax Commissioner, who makes assessments on real and personal property in the City. Contains reports, publications, and quarter section atlases.

Note:

To request materials from this collection, create/login to your Special Collections Account.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.mwpl-cmac0052

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The 1846 City of Milwaukee Charter established that there would be one assessor for each ward appointed by the Common Council. At that time, no Tax Commissioner was appointed and the Treasurer had the responsibility of collecting all monies paid into the treasury and recording all receipts and disbursements separately for each ward. The City Charter was amended in the 1860s to establish a Tax Commissioner who would oversee the assessors and be responsible for the collection of taxes. Today, the Tax Department makes all assessments upon real and personal property within the City, except railroads and public utilities, which are assessed by the State Tax Commission. The Tax Department keeps a complete set of records of all lots, blocks, fractional lots, and parcels of land in the City, and all other records necessary and convenient to carry out its work. Personal property is assessed on the first day of May, while real estate may be assessed anytime between the first day of May and the meeting of the Board of Review, consisting of the Mayor, City Clerk, Tax Commissioner, and all the Assessors. The board meets to examine and adjust all assessments, which are properly brought before it. The City is divided into districts for the purpose of assessments.

This collection contains Quarter-Sectional Atlases for the City of Milwaukee, with a key to all plats, auxiliary maps, references, indexes, and footnotes, locating all subdivisions, additions, blocks, lot numbers, house numbers, streets, avenues, and places with their proper names within the present city limits. There is also a property Tax List for the Third Ward arranged alphabetically, giving name and amount with an occasional note giving address and/or type of personal property. An annual report, lists of assessments and taxes, and other publications are included as well.

The collection is arranged alphabetically.

City of Milwaukee Tax Commissioner Records, 1867-1988, Collection 52. City of Milwaukee Archival Collections, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Archival Collections

• City Assessor Records. City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 67.

• City Comptroller Records. City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 22.

• City Plan Commission Records. City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 55.

• City Treasurer Records. City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 68.

• Department of Public Works Records. City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 3.

Publications and Other Items

Administrative Districts for Assessment Purposes [map]

Assessment and Taxes : City of Milwaukee

City of Milwaukee Office of Tax Commissioner : Departmental Review

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials. The collection is open to all in accordance with state law. The public may view City of Milwaukee Archival Collections by appointment at the Central Library. To request an in-person appointment, create/login to your Special Collections Account. If you have any questions, please contact the Archives and Special Collections Department at mplarchives@milwaukee.gov.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

Milwaukee Public Library receives official materials from city departments via the Milwaukee City Records Center, pursuant to state statutes and city ordinances governing the permanent retention of city records.

Processing Information

Processed by Janet K. Geronime, 1996; and Gayle M. Ecklund, 2000. Updated by Gayle M. Ecklund, 2004. Bob Jaeger added materials, 2017. In 2018, Bob Jaeger combined the previous Tax Commission collections and renumbered it CMAC 52.

Box   1 Folder   1	Annual Report, 1911
Box   1 Folder   2-4	Assessments and Taxes, 1901-1930
Box   1 Folder   5-6	Assessments and Taxes, 1950-1957, 1988
Box   1 Folder   7	Description of Department, 1981
Box   1 Folder   8	Manual of Tables and Rules, 1926
Box   1 Folder   9	Map, Administrative Districts for Assessment Purposes, 1954
	Official Quarter-Sectional Atlases
Oversize Folder   1	Loose material found in atlases, 1915-1928
Volume   1	Plat #1-58, 1915
Volume   2	Plat #59-124, 1915
Volume   3	Plat #1-124, corrected, 1918-1921
Volume   4	Plat #1-124, revised, 1925-1927
Box   1 Folder   10	Pamphlets, Facts About Assessments in the City of Milwaukee, 1967-1982
Volume   5	Tax List, 3rd Ward, 1867
Box   1 Folder   11	Taxation and Financial Problems, preliminary report, 1933